What is active voice in writing?

• A. Active voice occurs when the subject of the sentence comes before the verb, making it clear who is performing the action.
• B. Active voice occurs when the action is performed on the subject.
• C. Active voice means the sentence is in past tense.
• D. Active voice is used only in questions.

Answer: (A)

Active voice centers on who performs the action in a sentence. In active voice, the subject comes before the verb and directly carries out the action, which makes it clear who is doing what. For example, “The guard checked the inmate’s ID” has the guard as the one performing the action, so the sentence feels direct and brisk.

The other ideas don’t define active voice. Saying the action is performed on the subject describes passive voice, like “The inmate’s ID was checked by the guard.” Tense describes when something happens (past, present, future) and can appear in either voice, so simply being in the past doesn’t define active voice. And active voice isn’t limited to questions; it can appear in statements as well, such as “The officer filed the report.”